Unreported Infant Prevention Birth Notification System Passes Legislation Committee... Expected to be Processed in Plenary Session Tomorrow

Passed at the National Assembly Judiciary Committee Meeting on the 29th
"Urgent Processing of the Protected Birth System, Official Letter Sent to the Welfare Committee"

The 'Birth Notification System' bill, which allows authorities to be notified of births through medical institutions even if a birth is not officially registered, passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session on the 29th. The bill is expected to be processed at the plenary session scheduled for the 30th.

On that day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a plenary session and, as the first agenda item, submitted and approved the 'Amendment to the Act on the Registration of Family Relations,' which includes the contents of the Birth Notification System.

During a recent audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare by the Board of Audit and Inspection, about 2,000 'unregistered infants' were discovered who had birth records but no official birth registration. Among them, cases of infant murder and abandonment occurred, prompting the ruling party and government to push for the legalization of the Birth Notification System to prevent such incidents.

The bill passed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on this day is a consolidated version combining 12 member proposals and 1 government proposal. When a medical professional records the birth information necessary for birth registration in the medical record, the head of the medical institution must submit this to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service within 14 days from the date of birth, and the Review and Assessment Service must immediately notify the mayor, town, or township head of the birth.

Upon receiving the birth notification, the local government head verifies whether the birth has been registered. If the birth is not registered within one month, a reminder notice to register the birth is sent to the obligated reporters, such as the parents, within seven days. If registration is not completed within seven days, the local government obtains permission from the supervisory court and registers the birth ex officio.

Since both the ruling and opposition parties reached a consensus on the bill, it is expected to pass at the plenary session on the 30th. The bill specifies that it will be enforced 'one year after promulgation,' so if the bill passes on the 30th, the law is expected to take effect on June 30 of next year.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee decided to urge the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee to promptly pass the 'Protected Birth System,' which complements the Birth Notification System, through an official letter. There were concerns that the introduction of the Birth Notification System might increase 'out-of-hospital births,' but the Protected Birth System, which allows mothers in crisis to give birth anonymously at medical institutions, is intended to address this issue. However, the Protected Birth System failed to pass the Welfare Committee subcommittee on the 28th after the opposition party opposed it, stating, "We agree with the intent but further deliberation is needed."

Kim Do-eup, chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said, "Several committee members expressed concerns about the potential increase in out-of-hospital births and other blind spots following the introduction of the Birth Notification System. While the committee is first notifying the amendment to the Family Relations Registration Act related to the Birth Notification System today, it is desirable to process the Protected Birth System before the amendment takes effect so that both systems can be implemented together. All committee members unanimously requested the Welfare Committee to take action in this regard during the plenary session resolution." The Legislation and Judiciary Committee decided to send an official letter with this content to the Welfare Committee.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.